Spacefest 2014 blasts off in Novato

Children who showed up Saturday for Spacefest 2014 had a chance to try on an astronaut's glove, put their footprints in moon dust, sit in a lunar rover replica and meet former astronauts Dick Gordon and Dan Bursch. The event, held at the Novato Space Museum at Pacheco Plaza, took place 45 years after the first time human beings walked on the moon.

Before making their mark in the moon dust next to the 15-foot lunar module replica on display, kids had to recite Neil Armstrong's famous words, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Armstrong uttered the words during the Apollo 11 moon landing July 20, 1969.

Saturday marked the formal unveiling of the fully assembled copies of the module and rover at the museum, which opened in 2011. The lunar module was the first manned spacecraft to land on the moon; the rover was later used to traverse its surface. The 3,000-square-foot museum is open four days a week and admission is free. For more information, visit the Space Museum website, spacestationca.org.